Kejriwal’s promise of ‘Bijli Half-Paani Maaf’ a big lie: Delhi Congress chief

New Delhi, July 18

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Devender Yadav demanded a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit of the finances of the power distribution companies (discoms), alleging that they have been exploiting Delhi’s power consumers through various surcharges, including a 9 per cent hike in the Power Purchase Adjustment Charge (PPAC). Yadav accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the BJP of collusion and benefiting from the looted funds.

“Kejriwal’s promise of ‘Bijli Half-Paani Maaf’ was a big lie. The promise has not been fulfilled, and power companies are looting consumers with additional surcharges. Meanwhile, potable water has become a precious commodity, unavailable during the heatwave,” Yadav said. He further noted that power rates have doubled over the decade, describing Kejriwal’s promise as ‘jumla’ designed to mislead public. Yadav also criticised Kejriwal for failing to fulfil his promise of a CAG audit of discom finances, allowing power companies to impose arbitrary monetary burdens on consumers.“When the Congress was in power, the average per-unit cost of power was Rs 5, which has now increased to Rs 10,” he said.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva dismissed Yadav’s allegations as baseless. “It is shocking to see the Delhi Congress president levelling baseless charges against the BJP regarding the imposition of PPAC by the AAP,” Sachdeva said. He pointed out that the BJP exposed the PPAC kickback scam when the Congress was in a political coalition with the AAP.